Benny Brydern: A license to Swing
Randi Cee
November 30, 2020
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Back in my disc jockey days in the ’90s, when I read about jazz in Chicago, one name kept appearing: Franz Jackson (November 1, 1912
In a normal year (if you can recall those), I’d call the holiday season peak swing dance. Sure, summer has its big camps with celebrity
Hal Smith: Jeff, since I suggested Johnny Dodds as the subject for our second column in The Syncopated Times, I would like to select the
Michael Steinman is a videographer and writer whose JAZZ LIVES blog attracts avid readers from around the globe. Hal Smith: For those who have been
It’s November now and the Pismo Jazz Jubilee has come and gone. The event was a success by all accounts and we are able to
Pre-Banjo Years Music and playing music came fairly early in my life, but not on the banjo. I vaguely remember taking a year of piano
In 2020 millions of musicians have experimented in creative ways out of necessity, making new and old technology their instrument. This is especially true in
This is part one of a two part series chronicling the Hall Brothers Jazz Band. Their story is an important and essential part of the
Jazz trombonist Bill Bardin played gutty two-beat Stomps, sophisticated four-beat Swing and lowdown Blues. His rich tone and tasteful instrumental voice made him a stalwart
Pioneering dancer Norma Miller—dubbed the “Queen of Swing”—has been honored with a memorial alongside those of King Oliver, W.C. Handy, Duke Ellington and other jazz
Two individuals who have long championed the legacy of Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke are the recipients of the 2020 Bix Lives Award, chosen by the Board
Michael Brooks passed away at home in Newark, NJ on November 20, 2020. Born in 1935 his early career was spent as an editor and
The 17th JazzFest at Sea will take place onboard the MSC Divina, departing from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean on October 3,
We are saddened by the news of the passing of legendary drummer Viola Smith, who died October 21 at her home in Costa Mesa, California.
It was in March this year when we first began thinking about a virtual festival. By then we could clearly no longer meet in person,
Was any jazz musician as consistent for as long a period as Benny Carter? One of the top alto saxophonists of 1927, he also ranked
Justin Ring had a lot of love to give in his long life, as he cared for so many close friends and family. Later in
With just about all of the 2020 festivals and jazz parties scheduled since March going virtual or being postponed until late 2021 or 2022, the
Recently, I have been considering the relationship between ragtime and the railroads more intently than ever. First, because Marcello Piras wrote to inquire about railroad
The worlds of jazz and classical music are often mysterious to both parties, and sometimes jazz musicians can get overwhelmed with understanding the classical tradition.
The 31st Annual Arizona Classic Jazz Festival was held in Chandler the first weekend in November—and New Orleans moved 1300 miles closer to the Pacific
Jabbo Smith was born Cladys Smith in Pembroke, Georgia, on December 24, 1908. After the death of his father, his mother found it increasingly difficult
As I begin this column, it approaches six o’clock in the morning of my printer’s deadline. If I was able last month to glide to
La Lucha is an open-minded jazz trio based in Tampa Bay, Florida that consists of pianist John O’Leary, bassist Alejandro Arenas, and drummer Mark Feinman.
Guitarist-bandleader Glenn Crytzer is a familiar name to the readers of The Syncopated Times, recording regularly and leading his New York-based bands. Last year’s Underneath
There have been a countless number of Christmas jazz albums since the 1950s. Probably my favorite of them all is ’Tis The Season To Be
There have been occasional recorded tributes to Bessie Smith since the 1950s, but French singer Sarah Lenka’s I Don’t Dress Fine is one of the
Alex Welsh (1929-82) is best known as a hard-driving trumpeter who led bands in England that were inspired by Eddie Condon. His clarinetist during 1955-64
There is certainly no shortage of Ella Fitzgerald recordings. Starting with Chick Webb during 1935-39, fronting his orchestra after Webb’s death, (1939-41), and then in
A hard working guitarist on the New York City scene Dave Stryker has released over thirty albums since arriving in the city in 1980. In
Some of our readers have laser focused tastes in early jazz. You know who you are. For those particular moldy figs it can be hard
Bassist Jen Hodge has been a leader in the trad jazz scene of Western Canada and the North West for a decade or more. She
A good Christmas album is one that your family can enjoy year after year, becoming recognizable in a few notes. It can fade into the
I’m almost beginning to appreciate this pandemic—just a minuscule bit, mind you—for forcing jazz musicians worldwide back into the studio and me off the dance
As anyone who’s read one of my reviews will know, I love a good keyboardist. Well, if I were naming The Schwings Band’s new album
Pulled at random from a bag of new releases, The Oxblood Melodians is the second disc I’ve reviewed recently which is bookended by two versions
There are plenty of outfits striving to reproduce the sounds of classic jazz recordings, be they big band or small group. There are plenty writing
The names of Peter Bocage and Emilé Barnes are not as well known as those of others who figured more prominently in the New Orleans
Aged 90 and now retired from playing, Chris Barber is an institution in the annals of British traditional jazz, having been on the scene since
Unlike many of the white groups that frequented the recording labs of the 1890s the Unique Quartette was not just a studio group, they had
Vol.5, No.12 December 2020
Benny Brydern: A License to Swing, by Randi Cee
Prospects of a Virtual Festival, by Dean Krikorian
My Life as a Banjoist, by Scott Anthony
The Hall Brothers Jazz Band: Beginnings, by Tony Balluff
Jingle Bells, Lockdown Smells, Swing Out All the Way, by Dave Doyle
Michael Steinman: Finding the Happiness in Jazz by Hal Smith
Finding Our Voice in the 21st Century, by Dave E. Hull
My Memories of a Jazz Legend: Franz Jackson, by Van Young
Christmas with a Guy Who Might Play Trombone by Andy Schumm
Pianist Terry Waldo Celebrates Ragtime in Podcast, by Neal Siegal
Duffee, Schaefer Receive 2020 Bix Lives Award, by Lew Shaw
Putting on a Festival in a Pandemic World, by Rhonda Cardinal
Jazz Birthday of the Month: Jabbo Smith, illustration by Joe Busam
Static from my Attic, by Andy Senior
Jazz Jottings, by Lew Shaw
The Professor is IN: Glossary of Musical Terms, by Adrian Cunningham
Milo and Rega, by R.S. Baker
Festival Roundup, compiled by Joe Bebco
Profiles in Jazz: Benny Carter, by Scott Yanow
Blowing off the Dust: Ragtime and the Railroads, by Larry Melton
Quarter Notes: And the Band Played On, by Shelly Gallichio
Ain’t Cha Got Music?: Johnny Dodds, by Jeff Barnhart & Hal Smith
The Trombone Eloquence of Bill Bardin, Pt. 2, by Dave Radlauer
CD Review: Hot Life, by Dave Doyle
Nights at the Turntable, CD reviews by Scott Yanow
Syncopated Bookshelf: Jazz and the Jazz Age, review by Joe Bebco
Off the Beaten Tracks, CD reviews by Joe Bebco
Album Review: The Unique Quartette by Joe Bebco
